Ian Ziering, who plays bar-owner-turned-shark-hunter Fin Shepard in “Sharknado,” mingled with co-stars and party guests. “I feel like I’m part of a hundred-million dollar blockbuster franchise,” he said.

Other stars present included Robert Klein and Chazz Palminteri, whose son Dante Palminteri plays Fin’s nephew Vaughn. Tara Reid, Fin’s love interest in both films, was not in attendance.

Around 8:55 p.m., the lights dimmed over the bar, and guests snatched up “Sharknado Survivial Kits” (bags of candy) before taking their seats.

At 9 p.m., there was a shout of “Yessssssss.” “Sharknado 2” had begun.

At 9:01 p.m., Fin appeared, and the audience exploded in cheers. Mr. Ziering himself ate some popcorn from a “Sharknado” cup.

9:05 p.m.: Sharks began falling from the sky.

9:07 p.m.: Kelly Osbourne’s head got chomped off. Body count: 1.

9:10 p.m.: Body count: I’d already lost track.

The Syfy Channel movie follows the original’s runaway success—each of the three airings of last summer’s “Sharknado” drew a larger audience of the one before, peaking at 2.1 million viewers.

Sharknado “created a whole new genre,” the elder Mr. Palminteri said. “It’s a comedy-horror-camp, all together.”

Dante Palminteri added, “To have ‘Sharknado 2’ be your first movie—you can’t get really any better than that.”

And how does Mr. Ziering account for the surprise success of ‘Sharknado’? “You know what, if I could—that would be the secret sauce, and I would be making these movies myself,” he said. “But it’s lightning in the bottle. It is the perfect storm, if you will—pun intended.”

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.